3G

Apple has unleashed a double attack on Samsung's purse, insisting it is owed $2.5bn in damages after intellectual property theft, while offering a 3G royalty rate exponentially smaller than Samsung demands. A new trial brief filed by the Cupertino firm reveals the scale of Apple's damages demands, FOSS Patents reports, accusing Samsung of having "reaped billions of dollars in profits and caused Apple to lose hundreds ofmillions of dollars through its violation of Apple's intellectual property."

AT&T has done itself no favors with its fudged response to rumors of an extra fee in order to use FaceTime over 3G connections on devices running iOS 6. Talk that the carrier would levy extra data charges if users wanted to take advantage of Apple's increased FaceTime flexibility - so far limited to WiFi connections - prompted an uproar of pre-emptive complaints that AT&T might put a financial block in the way of iPhone and iPad functionality. But are we really on the precipice of a groundswell of video calling, or are we simply taking this opportunity to be angry at a carrier for daring to charge us money?

AT&T may charge users of FaceTime over 3G, the updated version of Apple's video calling system which, as of iOS 6, will allow for calls over 3G connections instead of solely WiFi. Screenshots of AT&T handsets running the iOS 6 beta shared in the MacRumors forums show an error message similar to that given when users without a compatible data plan try to activate tethering.

UK carrier O2 was stricken by a network outage affecting 2G and 3G service yesterday, with the network finally managing to restore 2G service this morning. Now the carrier has updated its network status to say that 3G service has been restored. O2 recommend that if any customers are still having issues with 3G, that they should disable then re-enable 3G connectivity.

Details of a new Garmin nuvi GPS navigation device have emerged courtesy of a freshly-spotted FCC filing, with the new model packing 3G connectivity. The Garmin nuvi 2598FL is listed as a "connected personal navigation device" and comes with not only Bluetooth but GSM/GPRS and HSPA+ radios for high-speed data on the move.

We’ve seen schemes from the likes of FreedomPop which offer "free" mobile internet access, but a company in the UK called Samba is taking the idea one step further. It’s partnering with Three UK to provide 517MB of free internet access on iPads if users agree to watch two and a half minutes of commercials. It also requires a app to be installed on the iPad to keep track of internet usage and serve up the ads.

Google Glass will not have a cellular data connection, at least initially, meaning wearers of the augmented reality system will need to rely on WiFi or tethering to get online. The headset demonstrated at Google IO yesterday includes only WiFi and Bluetooth technologies, not 3G or 4G despite early rumors, with senior industrial designer on the Google Glass project Isabelle Olsson confirming to ABC News that users out of hotspot range will need to tether to their smartphone for WWAN access.

Samsung has secured a win against Apple in The Hague, with the Dutch court ruling that older iPhones and iPads contravene a 3G patent held by the Korean company. Although Samsung's earlier attempts to have the products - which include the iPad 2 and iPhone 4, though not the latest iPhone 4S and new iPad - blocked from sale were rejected, the company says it will now use this ruling to obtain compensation for the infringement from Apple.

If you’re willing to be a little flexible with your choice of smartphone, you can save a pretty penny by subscribing to an MVNO instead of one of the main four carriers in the US. MVNOs piggyback on their networks but typically offer better deals. One such MVNO is Voyager Mobile, who promised to bring unlimited tariffs to a CDMA network near you without breaking the bank but has suffered some delays. Today Voyager has officially launched with prices that might entice you.

This morning Verizon has released an official statement on what was said yesterday by the company's CFO in regards to the end of Unlimited Data plans for smartphones and tablets. This statement assures the public that no hard and fast plans have been announced for current or prospective customers other than their current data sharing project already in the works now for some time. This statement comes aside comments made this week which seemed to effectively kill unlimited data on Verizon for grandfathered-in users.

Nokia has secured victory in its ongoing legal battle with IPCom, with a UK appeals court today ruling that none of the Finnish firm's current products infringe a contentious 3G patent. IPCom had appealed a UK High Court ruling last year which found that the patent in question was not valid as granted; last month, the European Patent Office overturned the patent, though the appeals court today agreed that some of Nokia's old products would have clashed with it.

Sierra Wireless has revealed the first triple-mode LTE, WiMAX and 3G mobile hotspot, the 4G LTE Tri-Fi, set to hit the Now Network later this month. Promising up to eight hours of active battery life and sharing for up to eight devices over WiFi b/g/n connections, the 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot also has a microSD card slot for working as a portable NAS using DLNA for easy access.